I Went Skydiving!

I’m currently on vacation visiting my family for my sister’s high school graduation. We’ve had a great time visiting with everyone, and yesterday was our last day before heading back home. It was also one of the most exciting days because we all decided to go skydiving to celebrate my sister’s graduation and my Dad’s coworker’s birthday.

Here is a cool video from the MySpace page for Skydive Spaceland, where we made our jump. (you may have to click through if you are reading this from a reader or e-mail).

There were 6 of us making the jump: me, my wife, my Mom, sister, brother, and Dad’s coworker. My Dad wanted to go but, unfortunately tweaked his back recently and his doctor recommended he not jump this time. He plans on going for his birthday in August, if able. So how was it?Skydiving was absolutely amazing! This was the first jump for all 6 of us, and we all had a great time. My Mom and sister each bought another jump because they loved it so much! They got a discount for purchasing their second jump in advance. Skydiving can be fairly expensive, but we were able to get nice discounts on our jump by taking advantage of a group discount and for jumping on a weekday. Just like vacationing in the off season, you can save money by doing things outside of the peak times. The total cost was around $135 per person.

The Jump

The entire jump, from take-off to landing only took about 25 minutes. It took about 15 minutes to get to altitude, a few minutes to get lined up for the jump, and maybe 7-8 minutes to reach the ground, including the free fall.

The free fall was amazingly loud and I could feel my face rippling as the wind whipped across my body. At 6,000 ft my instructor gave me the signal to pull the cord. I waved in acknowledgment and pulled the orange golf ball attached to the rip cord.

I was expecting a huge jolt, but it was surprisingly gentle. We slowed down to a controlled glide and the instructor showed me how to steer and control the fall by pulling the left and right cords. When you pull them both (flare them), you could slow the descent to almost nothing. Conversely, if you pull one down hard, you can steer yourself into a fast spin. We did a couple 360s and 720s, flared to a stop, and guided ourselves to the landing zone. Right before touchdown, we flared the cords again and it slowed us down well enough that we just had to put our feet down and stand up. All in all, a great jump!

What to look for when making your first parachute jump

Safety first. Find a jump school with a good reputation and that is certified by the United States Parachute Association (USPA).

Check the school’s safety record. A quick search on the web will give you all the info you need on the school’s safety record and reputation.

Understand the basics. Pay attention to the instructions, ask questions, and go over the sequence of events with your instructor. He or she will likely go over this several times with you, but be sure to do it until you are comfortable with what you are going to do.

Know the risks. There are risks inherent to jumping, and you should be aware of them. According to SkyDiving Magazine, about 35 people die each year in the U.S. while making approximately 2 million parachute jumps. Most of these accidents were not caused by equipment failure, but most often by mistakes of procedure or judgment. Drop Zone lists several risks and requirements for skydiving.

Read the fine print. You will be asked to read and sign several pages of waivers, disclaimers, and legal documents stating you assume all risks associated with the jump – up to and including death. Yes, death is possible, but well over 2 million jumps are safely made in the US each year, and very few result in injury or death. In any case, they won’t let you jump without signing the waiver.

Have fun. Skydiving is a blast! There is a reason so many people do this every year, and the reason is that it is a beautiful and amazing experience. Live it up!

Many thanks to the folks at Skydive Spaceland in Rosharon, TX, and a special thanks to Ben for bringing me in safely. 🙂

Want to go skydiving? Check the internet for your local skydiving school or jump club, or call 1-800-SKY-DIVE to get connected to the jump school closest to you.

Ryan Guina is the founder and editor of Cash Money Life. He is a writer, small business owner, and entrepreneur. He served over 6 years on active duty in the USAF and is currently a member of the IL Air National Guard. He also writes about military money topics and military and veterans benefits at The Military Wallet.

Note About Comments on this Site: These responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered..

Sounds like a blast! You are braver than me…I don’t much care for heights. It’s not that I’m afraid of heights, I’m just afraid of falling! I’ll stick to what my grandfather (a retired Marine fighter pilot) says about skydiving…Why would anyone want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane?! LOL!

No thanks! I can’t even stand to look outside a second story window. I bought my wife a hang gliding package for her 40th birthday ($175) and she was towed up to altitude by an ultra-light. She and her instructor spent 45 minutes in the air, soaring with the hawks just under some clouds. I stayed on the ground and took pictures. 😉

Oh and Frugal Dad, you’re not afraid of falling, you’re afraid of that “sudden impact at the end!”

Why would anyone want to jump out of a perfectly good plane? Well, it is an amazing experience. There are wind tunnels you can visit that are supposed to replicate the experience of a free fall, but I’ve never been to one. Even if it isn’t exactly the same thing as free falling, I bet it would still be a good time.

Ron,

Hang gliding would be another cool experience!

Phillip,

You’re right, it’s definitely not cheap! But as an occasional treat, it is worth it. I think a solo jump would be a lot of fun, but as for now, I don’t plan on it. I might do it again, but probably only to celebrate someone else’s special occasion. It’s a cool memory though! 🙂

Congrats! I went skydiving in ’99 to get over my fear of heights. I loved it. I was more worried about whether my shoelaces were tied tight enough cause I didn’t want them to fall off. The view was incredible. I wouldn’t mind jumping again, but I would be afraid to do a solo jump.

Skydiving was sweet. It was something I’ve always wanted to do, but probably never would have taken the initiative to do on my own. Thankfully there was a group of people going, so it was the perfect excuse. It’s definitely one of those things to put on the “to do in this lifetime” list or the bucket list. I’ve still got a couple more things on my list to do. I’ll have to get to it!

Wow.. that’s all i can say. I would love to do that someday, but it’d be tough to get to that door and jump out.

I’m reading a book right now about the 101st airborne in world war II. They jumped out of planes into a war zone – bullets wizzing by, flak exploding around them and jumping out of flaming airplanes.. So hey – it could be worse!

I’ve watched several WWII movies with scenes of paratrooper jumps. What an amazing thing they did!

My jump was done while strapped to a certified skydiver, and he was in control of much of the jump, including taking us out the side of the plane. If you ever get the chance to do it, it is a very cool experience! 🙂

Well, what are some of the other things? You could easily make a post on that, saving up for those future things. Go hunting in Africa, swimming the coral reef, climb mount Everest. Everyone talks about having to live now too, lets hear what some of those things are, and how you are trying to be able to do them! 🙂

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